Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
An end of semester reflection
It's hard to believe our time in Multimedia Authoring has nearly come to an end! As the semester draws to a close I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the rhetorical skills I've learned through each unit.
Unit 1: Marry content and design. Through making a collage I learned to choose visual elements that not only reinforce but enhance the message I want to convey. Create visual elements that direct the viewer to the text and frame your message appropriately. Attract the viewer's eye with interesting and well-crafted visual imagery, and you've got their attention long enough to communicate your argument.
Unit 2: Target a specific audience and communicate intent through design. In creating my website I chose a design that I felt would appeal to the student audience I hoped to attract. By referencing zine culture and activism in my design elements I communicated the "feel" of a grassroots movement to my audience, reminding the viewer that his/her opinion can make a difference. While "content is king," design is the vehicle that supports and communicates your argument.
Unit 3: Communicate content through design. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I've come to rely on my writing abilities as I progress further into my major coursework; as a result I have few opportunities to communicate a message exclusively through visual imagery. Though we all think in pictures to some degree, it's difficult to capture just the right images that will express our thoughts in a logical fashion so that viewers unfamiliar with the context can receive the message. As I often process my thoughts through very literal images, leaving room for abstraction and conjecture in my images for this project has been challenging. Through this final project I've learned to communicate abstract, complex content through image in a non-literal way.
It hasn't been an easy ride and there have been a few surpises along the way, but I know the skills I've learned and practiced in this course will serve me well throughout my college career and beyond. As our society continues to integrate new technology into nearly every aspect of life, today's artists and writers must become technologically literate or become left behind in today's fast-paced, consumer-driven world. I believe the multimedia skills we've learned this semester will be indispensible not just in our careers but in our everyday lives as consumers and creators of media content.
Unit 1: Marry content and design. Through making a collage I learned to choose visual elements that not only reinforce but enhance the message I want to convey. Create visual elements that direct the viewer to the text and frame your message appropriately. Attract the viewer's eye with interesting and well-crafted visual imagery, and you've got their attention long enough to communicate your argument.
Unit 2: Target a specific audience and communicate intent through design. In creating my website I chose a design that I felt would appeal to the student audience I hoped to attract. By referencing zine culture and activism in my design elements I communicated the "feel" of a grassroots movement to my audience, reminding the viewer that his/her opinion can make a difference. While "content is king," design is the vehicle that supports and communicates your argument.
Unit 3: Communicate content through design. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I've come to rely on my writing abilities as I progress further into my major coursework; as a result I have few opportunities to communicate a message exclusively through visual imagery. Though we all think in pictures to some degree, it's difficult to capture just the right images that will express our thoughts in a logical fashion so that viewers unfamiliar with the context can receive the message. As I often process my thoughts through very literal images, leaving room for abstraction and conjecture in my images for this project has been challenging. Through this final project I've learned to communicate abstract, complex content through image in a non-literal way.
It hasn't been an easy ride and there have been a few surpises along the way, but I know the skills I've learned and practiced in this course will serve me well throughout my college career and beyond. As our society continues to integrate new technology into nearly every aspect of life, today's artists and writers must become technologically literate or become left behind in today's fast-paced, consumer-driven world. I believe the multimedia skills we've learned this semester will be indispensible not just in our careers but in our everyday lives as consumers and creators of media content.
Processing Unit 3: Visual Imagery
As most of my time over the next 5 days will be spent finishing up my unit 3 project, I thought I'd take some time to examine my process and think about the way I'm choosing to convey my concept.
I've got my topic nailed down and I thought I had a solid plan for each frame...until I brought my storyboard into class on Tuesday and got some much-needed feedback. It was then I realized I had a powerful concept but didn't yet have a clear conception of the images I would need to get that concept across. As a writing major, I've learned to show the reader an image through words. By contrast, I've rarely had the opportunity to convey a complex, abstract concept through images.
I've come to think of my images as snapshots of the concept I want the viewer to understand. These snapshots, when aligned in the proper sequence, will communicate my argument in the most effective way.
The key to a successful visual argument is the key to a successful piece of writing: "Show, don't tell." Strive to create an image that leaves room for interpretation. Allow the viewer to draw his own conclusions. However, that simple refrain becomes a lot more difficult to carry out in the context of imagery.
In my opinion, the best way to improve your imagery is to put yourself in the viewer's position. If you didn't know the context of the images or were unfamiliar with the issue at hand, would you understand the argument being made? Do the pictures follow a logical pattern? What feeling do you take from the images, and what do they lead you to think about? Then, ask an impartial peer to check your images and answer the same questions.
How has the Unit 3 project taught you think visually? How are you communicating your argument using the values of multimedia we discussed in class?
I've got my topic nailed down and I thought I had a solid plan for each frame...until I brought my storyboard into class on Tuesday and got some much-needed feedback. It was then I realized I had a powerful concept but didn't yet have a clear conception of the images I would need to get that concept across. As a writing major, I've learned to show the reader an image through words. By contrast, I've rarely had the opportunity to convey a complex, abstract concept through images.
I've come to think of my images as snapshots of the concept I want the viewer to understand. These snapshots, when aligned in the proper sequence, will communicate my argument in the most effective way.
The key to a successful visual argument is the key to a successful piece of writing: "Show, don't tell." Strive to create an image that leaves room for interpretation. Allow the viewer to draw his own conclusions. However, that simple refrain becomes a lot more difficult to carry out in the context of imagery.
In my opinion, the best way to improve your imagery is to put yourself in the viewer's position. If you didn't know the context of the images or were unfamiliar with the issue at hand, would you understand the argument being made? Do the pictures follow a logical pattern? What feeling do you take from the images, and what do they lead you to think about? Then, ask an impartial peer to check your images and answer the same questions.
How has the Unit 3 project taught you think visually? How are you communicating your argument using the values of multimedia we discussed in class?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)